Fiction has long pictured blacks, women in White House

Published 5:30 am, Monday, October 27, 2008

Morgan Freeman portrays the president of the United States in "Deep Impact."

Morgan Freeman portrays the president of the United States in "Deep Impact."

Photo: Myles Aronowitz, Paramount Pictures

Fiction has long pictured blacks, women in Oval Office

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Take your eyes off the polls for just a second. Zogby can get along without you, and the electoral map isn't going anywhere for a while. With mere days to go until Election Day, it's a fine time for exhausted voters to kick back, pop in a movie, watch some television, maybe even read a novel . . . about elections and the American presidency.

And when you do, what will you find? African-American presidents. Female vice presidents. Heated campaigns, scrappy politics, negative advertising. Whether Barack Obama or Sarah Palin comes away happy on Nov. 4, the results will be one for the history books. But the rest of the library got there first. For several decades now authors and filmmakers have pictured such a twist on the executive branch, stacking the shelves with charismatic American leaders of assorted shapes and colors.

The list below isn't comprehensive, but it suggests a few clear themes. The first reflects a common fear that any African-American who makes it to the White House is in danger of being assassinated. The second is a tendency, pronounced among mega-budget disaster films, to feature a black president in times of global calamity. And a third is the fact that African-Americans and women more frequently assume power in the realm of science fiction, where authors often imagine what humankind has yet to achieve.

At last, a warning: From this point on, spoilers are the norm. If you don't want to know how The Contender or The Crack in Space ends, stop reading here — or skip over the "predictions" outlined at the close of each entry. The only climax I won't predict is Election Day's.

The premise: Disaster magnet Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) fights terrorists and sleep-deprivation in jittery real time. The politicians: African-American presidents David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) and, later on, his brother Wayne (D.B. Woodside). The predictions: Not one but two African-American presidents. Not one but two assassination attempts: The first, successful, on David Palmer after he leaves office; the second on Wayne, who plunges into a coma and leaves his shifty VP (Powers Boothe) in charge.

The premise: In the year 2080, a conduit opens to a separate Earth populated with Neanderthals. The politician:Jim Briskin, a cool-headed nominee campaigning to be the first black president — but is he too black for lower-income white voters? Not authentic enough for blacks? The predictions: The first African-American president, first Neanderthal immigrants and first orbiting brothel.

The premise: Five hundred years in the future, two 21st-century guys of average intelligence awake from a cryogenic freeze into a country run by utter boobs. The politician: African-American President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews), a former wrestler and porn star. The predictions: First black president named for a soft drink.

The premise: In 2228, a white male incumbent runs against a black man and a white woman in a futuristic, dystopian America dependent on electronic media and consumed by racial-identity politics. The politicians:James Roy Wilde, an inspiring black leader; the incumbent President Kerlog; and the feminist Evelyn Astor. The predictions: The black man wins the presidency, but he dies mysteriously before he takes office. The white incumbent prevails in re-election.

The premise: When his vice president dies, the Democratic president (Jeff Bridges) taps a woman to fill the spot — unleashing a firestorm of innuendo and accusations. The politician: Sen. Laine Billings Hanson (Joan Allen), Ohio Democrat and purported past orgy participant. The predictions: Sleazy politics fail. A woman assumes the vice presidency.

The premise: Small African-American boy runs for president, sparking satire, fabulous music and discomfiting watermelon stereotypes. The politician: Rufus Jones, a toe-tapping tyke in a double-breasted suit, played by 7-year-old Sammy Davis Jr. The predictions: The first black president. The first grade-school president. The first "presidentess" (that is, the president's mom).

The premise: What if George Washington had made peace with King George, if blacks were freed without Civil War, and the United States . . . never were? The politician: Sir Martin Luther King, Governor General of North America. The prediction: The murder of "Tricky Dick," a car salesman who might have been president, at least for a while, in some other timeline.

The premise: A kick-butt American president (Harrison Ford) must fend off neo-Soviet terrorists mid-flight while his lady veep copes back home. The politician: Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close), who nobly declines to assume her boss's job. The prediction: First female vice president — and first presidential escape on a zip-line.

The premise: A freak building collapse kills the president and Speaker of the House. The vice president, who's old and frail, declines the presidency. The politician:Douglass Dilman (James Earl Jones), the Senate president pro tempore who gets bumped into the hot seat. The prediction: The first African-American president.

Head of State (broad political comedy film, 2003), directed by Chris Rock.

The premise: A freak double-plane accident kills the Democratic candidates for president and vice president. With their hopes now aimed four years ahead, party bigwigs select a city alderman to run for prez; smear campaign ensues. The politicians: For president, plain-speaking African-American Mays Gilliam (Rock). For vice president: his bail-bondsman brother, Mitch (Bernie Mac). The predictions: Attack ads fail. Slogans work ("That ain't right"). The African-American ticket wins.

Commander in Chief (television show, 2005-2006), created by Rod Lurie (see: The Contender).

The premise: A cerebral aneurysm kills the newly elected Republican president, pushing the country's first female VP into the oval office. The politician:Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis), an Independent Congresswoman from Connecticut. The predictions: The first female president. The first

The premise: Humongous comet wings toward earth, boding extinction. The politician: African-American President Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman), a terrific orator who levels with the citizenry while establishing martial law. The prediction: Americans will survive the wreckage of their country, buoyed by an uplifting presidential speech.

The premise: A flaming ball of death wings toward Earth, boding extinction. The politician: Federation President Lindberg (ex-wrestler Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr.) the odd, bald, large, dumb and squinty leader. The prediction: First black president of a space federation. First half-nekkid alien (Milla Jovovich) and bottle-blond cabbie (Bruce Willis) to save the world.

2012 (disaster movie, expected in 2009), directed by Roland Emmerich.

The premise: Global apocalypse predicted (sort of) by the Mayan calendar seizes Earth, boding extinction. The politician: African-American President Wilson (Danny Glover). The prediction: Unknown. But once again, with humanity on the brink of annihilation, a black man is in charge.

The Simpsons Movie (animated film, 2007), directed by David Silverman.

The premise: Homer dumps pig crap in a lake, polluting all of Springfield and causing the Environmental Protection Agency to seal it in a biodome. The politician: President Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vice President Hillary Clinton. The prediction: First woman vice president and first non-native-born president.

Prison Break (television show, 2005-present), created by Paul Scheuring. The premise: Frowning genius (Wentworth Miller) aids his incarcerated sibling (Dominic Purcell), who's been framed for the murder of the vice president's brother. The politician: Nefarious V.P. Caroline Reynolds (Patricia Wettig), who inherits the top spot with the help of poison. The prediction: First female vice president to assassinate her predecessor.